The Gamers Tulpa: Crafty's Chapters
by CraftyMaelyss
Summary: They have been freed, after being banished from their world for their 'Games' they have entered our world and started again, this time bringing certain video game characters to our world to fight for their 'Gamers' and for a choice of 3 prizes. Who will survive and what will they choose? But there's one catch, -only the Gamers can see them. Rated M to be safe.
1. Introductory Piece

_**~Introductory Piece~**_

A pulsing white orb sat in the centre of a dark room, six figures surrounding it. Some having humanoid figures, others with obscure shapes but one stood alone in the back, sitting on a high throne above and away from the rest.

"The Eclipse draws near... To the skies, we sing praise as the last of the Guardians shall fall."

One of the inhuman shapes looked at the small figure.

"Are you sure it will work this time? The Guardians have always stopped our games." It asked, an odd creature that sharply haunched forward and only revealed a disjointed jaw of silver and copper.

"We will be victorious this time, free from their rules, free from their orders. Soon, we shall play our game once again...One to distort the soul of many worlds..." The figure looked down. "Ssyleam,"

One of the humanoid figures looked up.

"Mmm?"

"You know what to do..." The smallest figure said with a nod as Ssyleam grinned.

"As you command." An empty, eerie chuckle rung through the air as Ssyleam vanished in a silver mist.

"Make sure she doesn't have another... _episode_..." The haunched over figure nodded.

"Of course."

 _Elsewhere..._

Ssyleam appeared outside of a small town. It sat snug and quiet in the centre of several large mountains, as if hidden away from the world by nature. The town was quiet, calm because it was abandoned after the catastrophe that happened after their last game so very long ago...

She knelt and looked at the burnt ground.

"Oh yes, I remember this..." Running her fingertips along the ground then rolled them blackened dust between them.

From her last _episode_ when someone dared to call her psychotic just because she laughed after snapping their friend's neck. The sound, the way he slumped like a rag doll, she couldn't help but giggle.

Following that, Ssyleam decided to play 'hot potato' but since there were no potatoes to be seen, she picked up a rock and fused it with too much energy. The resulting explosion destroyed everything...even the other contestants...

Their Master was not happy with her for that. She had to rebuild the entire town by herself as punishment plus she missed out on the last game before _**The Guardians**_ stopped them.

"Hmph." Ssyleam pouted, she didn't like the Guardians, in their home realm they were banished from playing anymore games to this world.

Now that everyone was awake again, they could start the game in a new world, a new beginning. Ssyleam's grin grew at the thought, her bottom lip splitting as her smile was too wide.

"It's going to be so much fun...I can't wait..." Her eyes glowed bright purple in excitement before glancing up at the sky.

A monstrous creature, taller then the mountains was striding slowly towards the ghost town. Ssyleam frowned.

' _They're here already?'_

It looked slow as the creature made it's way towards Ssyleam, sensing her prescense the moment she entered the town.

From it's appearance you would say it was made entirely of dirt and earth but it's skin was actually made of a metal not of this world, it's empty sockets as eyes were gazing on the cloaked figure.

The Guardian's foot stepped down directly on a car, a family of four inside with two young children and lifted to show the vehicle and it's inhabitants alive.

It stood on another realm, invisible to humans, to avoid panic among the young race as the telephone poles that would have been dangerous trip hazards phased through it's feet, being a phantom to this realm and all of it's objects.

Ssyleam frowned.

"Time for some fun." She grinned, blood running down her split lip as she ran forward, adjusting something under her right sleeve as the Guardian was already bringing it's fist down towards her.

" _ **SSSCRREEEEAEAAAAAAHHHHHK!**_ "

A horrific screech filled the air as it's hand fell to the ground, a powerful gust following form it's movement as Ssyleam stood aside, holding a blood red, pulsing blade.

"That's right, we finally have a way to kill you fuckers." She grinned then swung at the creature again.

 _In another realm..._

In the Dungeon of Eternal life, the door that was sealed away with chains barricading it, began to pulse with pale blue light, the door banging more harshly from the force of the pulses.

Both of the guards nearby jumped, their eyes snapping to the door nervously. There was rattling before but it was never this intense, nor did it glow.

"W-we should infrom the Queen immediately!" One stuttered as the other just nodded, taking off and leaving his friend behind, who was deciding between staying or following.

Meanwhile in the old castle of the recently revived troll king, another ancient sealed door began to pulse with the same energy as that in the Enchanted Kingdom's dungeon, soon drawing the attention of some nearby trolls.

"That thing 'asn't done tha' b'fore." One said as the other grunted in agreement.

"We shoul' tell Thorn 'bout this." He said, running off as one remained behind to stand guard.

In another realm separate from the two warring kingdoms, was the dragon realms as another door started reacting the same way.

"Spyro, what's wrong?" Cynder asked as the purple dragon just stared at the door, frowning in worry.

"I'm not sure Cynder...it feels like something important is behind this door...but I don't know what or why..." He said, his tail swishing in slight tension or was it excitement? He didn't know what to feel but this door, whatever was behind it, was important, that much he did know.

All of the doors openned and a voice said,

" _ **Come closer...**_ "

In another city, where many people bustled about with their daily lives, one of the figures appeared, again Ssyleam.

"Alright, so that fucker is down...now for part 2...wheeeeeere aaaaaare yoooooou~?"

Ssyleam said loudly, walking past all of the humans who could neight see, feel nor hear her as she looked around through the sea of blank faces.

"Why couldn't they just be a weirdo and live in the middle of nowhere? It'd make my job a hell of a lot easier." She grumbled to herself, wandering around, scanning each individual form's energies.

" _Something compatable..._ " She mumbled, watching the pale whitish grey energies of each living human being walk past.

 _A flicker of blue._

Ssyleam looked back and saw a pale woman under average height with a light blue fringe, brown hair and some faded red-ish pink streaks through it wearing a long blue jacket but her energy is what caught her attention.

Compared to the whitish grey sillhouettes enveloping everyone else, this woman's energy was a bright pale electric blue that continually swirled around and about her like wisps or mist, it reminded her of the ocean for some reason.

" _Biiiiingooooo~!_ " Ssyleam sing-sang as she skipped over to the woman who was waiting at the traffic lights.

There was a lot of traffic, so she wasn't going anywhere for at least five minutes.

"Hmmm...fits all the catagories..." She mumbled, before noticing the amulet hanging on a silver chain necklace that she could tell was made by this woman due to her own energy radiating from it.

If Ssyleam wasn't in the human realm, this would be very awkward as it looked like she was staring down her shirt and jacket...well she was but not for that reason.

"That will do _nicely_." Ssyleam purred as she pulled out a small vial with a pale blue crystal pulsing inside.

"Ah, a lucky draw! Funny how I pulled out yours first but this part you're not gonna like." She giggled as the crystal hovered out of the vial once she openned it and hovered patiently in her palm. It was shaped like a long, stretched out diamond.

Ssyleam held her hand forward and the crystal floated over to the woman's amulet, fusing with the amethyst that already sat inside. So far, she didn't notice anything unusual but Ssyleam stepped behind her, being sure to enter the human plane so she could be seen by other humans.

Her cloak got some odd looks that quickly turned to horror once Ssyleam gave the woman a sharp shove in front of a speeding truck.

There were several screams from onlookers as things seemed to go in slow motion. The woman's heart pounded loudly in her head, eyes watering slightly in the realisation that she was more then likely about to die, an image of her mother and younger brother goofing off while singing loudly, laughing their hearts out.

Her family, she wasn't going to see them agai-

Someone pulled her back as the truck's brakes slammed and squealed loudly as the heavy vehicle shot past.

Tears ran down her eyes as she turned to the one that pushed her, seeing her running away at an inhuman speed.

Her first thought was to run after her and scream, punch her for doing such a stupid, reckless thing but she fell to her knees and cried, the aftershock kicking in.

"WHOO!" Everyone looked up as Ssyleam was running away, laughing, "See ya later Crafty!" She yelled, waving as some guys were running after her, demanding to stop and calling her an idiot.

Their words didn't matter, they were only silly humans. She grinned as she did a backflip off the ground, landing on the roof of the shopping centre and vanishing.

" _That's one down..._ " She grinned as she walked forward onto the next Gamer.

"H-How did she know my-"

"Are you alright?" Crafty looked at the officer that stayed behind. "Do you know her?"

"I...I don't think so..." She said, shaking her head, her legs still jelly from the terrifying experience.

"Do you want me to give you a ride home miss?"

"N-no, my M-Mum's just inside the shopping centre.." She stuttered, trying so hard not to cry, she could do that when she was at home, safe and unjudgded.

"Are you sure miss? That was a very close call."

Crafty nodded.

"I...I don't think she'd be stupid enough to come b-back after that..." She said, sniffing as her nose started to run.

"C...crap..." She pulled out a pocket sized packet of tissues and blew her nose. "T-thank you."

It wasn't long until she found her mother and younger brother with a police escort who explained what happened.

 ** _~Author's note~_**

 ** _Hey guys, it feels like forever since I've been on here, things have been getting busy IRL with SilverSmithing and other things but I'll try to update more often if I can P: and don't worry, I'm still working on GHOST and Five Nights with Kameo but this is part of a story collab I've been planning for a while now._**

 ** _On DeviantArt, I'm writing this collab story where Gamers are thrown into a Game and with their tulpae, they must survive for the ultimate prize. This is myself in the story, I am CraftyMaelyss or Crafty for short and other writer/Gamers will put themselves in the story, though I'm not sure if they will upload their chapters on this website P:_**

 ** _If they do, it will have the same name but the chapter may be named after them, for example 'The Gamer's Tulpa: WhatstheirName03's Chapter' also if you would like to join the collab, message me and ask because there are certain rules to this collaboration that MUST be followed, no arguments._**

 ** _Oh yes and this story will have many MANY crossovers with several games but I only have the option of choosing two, so yeah, also as always, rated M for safety :P_**


	2. Chapter 1

_**~Crafty's Chapter 1~**_

Three days since the incident happened, when that lunatic nearly killed her, the scene played again in her mind. Crafty shook her head, she didn't want to become obsessed with it. What happened, happened and she was still alive, that's all that mattered.

Since then she has carried her swiss army pocket knife in a hidden pocket in case anyone tried to attack her again. If anything happened to her, she didn't want her family to deal with that burden.

She shook her head again, clearing her thoughts. She needed to do something to get her mind off what happened.

Crafty thought about going for a walk. Her neighbourhood was calm, quiet but there were enough houses and people nearby that if she screamed, someone would come running or at least look at the commotion.

Walking upstairs, Crafty noticed her Mother was watching the latest episode of Breaking Bad, a tv series that she was hooked on. Crafty had watched one or two episodes with her and it was pretty good but she didn't exactly have spare time to lounge about with all the projects she had left to do...

Openning the fridge, Crafty looked around.

"Hey, do we have any milk left?" She asked as the sound on the tv stopped.

"No, I just used the last of it for my coffee, sorry baby girl." Crafty shut the fridge and blinked.

"Don't you need some more for your coffee in the morning? I can walk down to the store and buy some more if you like."

The older woman frowned.

"After what happened a few days ago?"

"That was in the busiest part of the city Mum, besides I have my phone and I can scream really loud if anything does happen." Crafty grinned.

Due to her hobby of voice acting, she knew how to scream at a high pitch that would pierce ear drums and easily be heard.

"If you feel odd at all, call me and I'll come get you. Are you sure you don't want me to drive you there?"

"Nah I haven't walked around town yet and it's still daylight, it'll be fine." She said with a small grin.

"Just be careful."

"You got it."

With her wallet in her jacket pocket and her phone in the other pocket, Crafty did up her blue jacket and wondered down to the store which was about a kilometre away, an easy walk and it would give her time to think about what happened the other day.

Either way, she needed to really think about it and what always helps her think is crafting and walking.

"What magic trickery is this?" The troll king mumbled to himself quietly. Thorn stood before the door, frowning. This had definitely not been here earlier, he knew because he had designed this very castle.

He said it quietly but the guards from earlier had heard him and thought it was a question directed to them.

"We dunno, it just start'd puls'n like tha'."

He frowned. Earlier a small hooded figure had emerged from the door and requested a private audience with him.

" _What do you want?"_

" _I'm here to give you an offer...a deal if you will..."_

" _I'm listening..."_

" _There is a game being held in the human realm,"_

" _The human realm? It is inaccessible to us."_

" _Until now," He blinked, hiding his surprise. "-there will be an event held in which certain...'characters' such as yourself will enter the human realm as a phantom, each granted special abilities."_

" _A phantom? So once in that realm I won't be seen nor heard?"_

" _-nor felt. Once you are in this realm, there will be an individual that you will be working with, they are referred to as '_ _ **Gamers**_ _' and you must protect your Gamer at all costs to be the sole survivors at the end of the Game."_

" _Why would I want to play this 'game' of yours?" He replied, crossing his arms._

" _Because, there are three choices given to the Gamer at the very end that will affect you and the game worlds. The first choice, is where the worlds are left how they are, separate-"_

" _So the first prize is nothing?"_

" _Indeed. The second choice is to destroy every single Gaming World so that the Gamer and their Tulpa, you, are granted God-like abilities but at the cost of your friends, your family and your whole world."_

" _..."_

" _The final choice is to combine every single world together, a single giant planet in another universe, a new solar system, where all characters and Gamers can freely interact."_

" _...I see..."_

" _Thorn, when a Gamer is chosen, their subconscious chooses who their main tulpa will be, this tulpa they form a deep, powerful bond with and vice versa. This kind of tulpa cannot die but if their Gamer dies or their_ _ **Game-O**_ _is destroyed, their main tulpa will be sent back to their homeworld but other tulpas can die."_

" _So this Gamer chose me?"_

" _No, there was an accident with this Gamer and by chance, something else chose you but you may be able to figure out who her original main Tulpa was meant to be."_

" _Her? Also, who said I wanted to be part of your silly little game?"_

 _The small figure smiled to themself._

" _Just like the Gamers, you don't really have a choice, I'm afraid. When this door opens again, it means your Gamer has been given their crystal and activated their Game-O but,"_

 _He frowned._

" _She won't know any of this and whether you tell her or not, or even reveal yourself is up to you. Just so you know, she won't be able to see or hear you unless you make physical contact, this includes other tulpas. She won't be able to see them unless they touch her, including attacking." The figure said and he could hear the grin in their voice._

" _But don't worry, until you create that bond by physical contact, other Gamers won't be able to tell she's a Gamer unless they're very close."_

" _You seem quite confident about this."_

" _-oh I am, I have been waiting a long time for this game to commence." The figure turned and wlaked towards the open doors, white energy swirling inside the arch as a blinding portal._

" _Good luck."_

The doors gave a final, powerful pulse that swung the doors open, hitting the surrounding walls with a loud bang, a blinding light filling the room.

He hit the ground hard, going through a tree-literally.

"Eugh..." He stood up and looked at the tree that reached his shoulders, putting his hand through, watching it phase through it again.

' _Interesting...'_ His right ear flicked back as the sound of tiny footsteps reached him. He turned around and looked at some small elf-like creatures walking past.

They didn't notice him, otherwise they would be anything but calm. It appeared to be two young men in over-sized ragged clothes laughing about something, riding along on a flat board with wheels.

They both needed belts because their trousers were showing off their undergarments.

However, he noticed that these drull creatures had a faint, white and grey aura surrounding them, it made them look boring. Thorn huffed, squatting behind one and went to flick one, even though he knew it wouldn't work, it was fun to try.

"HOLY SHIT!"

The man flew down the street at an incredible speed, the flick having made contact and sent him flying past the mechanical-horseless carriages, a startled look of panic on his face as his friend's jaw was on the ground, quickly riding after him, calling for him to slow down.

Thorn laughed loudly, enjoying the antics of this world. He reached over to the tree nearby and focused while grabbing a branch.

It snapped off easily.

' _It seems I can interact with the human plane.'_ He chuckled.

Something caught his eye, something _blue_.

A young woman in a blue unusual dress was walking past, having missed the aftermath of his actions. What caught his attention was the fact that compared to the men's aura, hers was blue and swirling about calmly.

He looked around for another woman to see if this was common, spotting one in a very short skirt but she too, like the men, had the dull white aura.

They noticed the blue girl's dress and blinked.

" _Oh my God, does she have blue hair?"_ One asked.

" _Yeah, maybe she's one of those cosplayer anime freaks? I didn't think we'd find any here."_ Her friend whispered back as the 'blue girl' walked past them on the other side of the street.

Thorn tripped one, not to stand up for the blue girl but for his own amusement, however the blue girl noticed.

"Hey! Are you okay?" She called over as the woman stood up.

"Yeah, I'm fine!"

"That's good!" She called back again, then continued walking after glancing back in worry.

' _That had to hurt, I hope she's okay...that's why I don't wear high heels.'_

Thorn tensed, whose voice was that? It couldn't be the blue girls? It sounded the same...was that his Gamer?

He walked over behind the blue girl, who was just looking ahead, keeping alert.

If this was his Gamer, it meant he didn't have to go off looking for her but it also made him wonder if he should try to talk to her now or...wait, why does she look familiar?

Thorn walked ahead and knelt, trying to see her face better but with those dark glasses it was hard to tell and he didn't want to make contact yet. How was he going to knock those glasses off to look at her face?

He watched the unaware Gamer walk past before standing and deciding to just follow her for now, eventually she'd take the damn things off.

 _ **End of Crafty's Chapter 1**_


	3. Chapter 2

_**~Crafty**_ _ **'s Chapter 2~**_

Dark storm clouds began to form, blocking out the sun.

Crafty glanced up before taking off her sunnies and sitting them on top of her head, continuing forward.

Thorn waited near the traffic lights and knelt so when Crafty stopped to press the crossing button on the pole.

"Of all people..." He huffed, frowning as he ran a hand over his face.

No wonder this human looked familiar, this is the one that helped Kameo defeat him.

Wait, defeat him? He had knocked the elf out and would have killed her had Theena not teleported her away, so why did he have a memory of him fighting Kameo and this woman?

He rubbed his head, feeling a headache coming, something here was amiss.

Crafty crossed the road and continued towards the store, unaware of her invisible stalker.

Once she found the skim milk brand that her mother liked, she headed to the checkout and paid for it, swiping her card through the machine and walking home, however she was starting to tense up.

Thorn noticed this compared to her relaxed gait before.

' _Am I being followed?'_

He frowned.

' _She can't see or hear me, there's no bond between us yet...unless..'_ He looked around for anything unusual, not seeing anything that stood out, other then a small white cat.

Crafty walked up the steps to a two story house with some large trees and shrubbery that kept the home hidden from view, pulling out her house keys from her pocket and unlocking the front door before stepping inside and locking it behind her.

"I'm home!" She called out, walking towards the kitchen and putting the carton of milk in the fridge.

"Did anything happen?" Her mother asked from the couch, watching Breaking Bad still, since she had a few episodes recorded.

"No, other then seeing a girl in high heels do a face-plant, nothing really happened. Have you fed Midnight?"

She shook her head.

"No I haven't fussy butt," She laughed. "-since you're very specific about how much she gets fed."

"Good, good. I'll be downstairs if you need me." Crafty replied, walking out the back door and down the stairs, openning another door and walking inside.

" _Midniiiiight~!"_ Crafty called and a small black kitten with bright yellow eyes ran forward crying, before rubbing against her legs, purring like a little motor.

She knelt and picked up the purring fluffball.

"Hey bubby girl, did you miss me?" Midnight responded by smacking her face into Crafty's, rubbing her nose.

"I take that as a yes." She giggled, patting the kitten before setting her down on the couch and grabbing the kitten's dinner, which she eagerly ran after, weaving between Crafty's legs, jumping onto the desk to eat from her bowl.

"Aw, you're such a good girl!" Crafty giggled, patting Midnight as she chomped away, her tail raising from the pats.

Crafty grinned, turning towards her desk and sat down, letting out a deep sigh.

' _So many bloody projects to finish...Eugh, well at least I don't have to worry about anymore assaignments for the rest of the term...I can finish editing the next page of GHOST: A NEW WAR later...There's also the Hunk A Junk trailer-wait I put that on hold until I can get all the voice actors, right so that's one thing I don't have to worry about...'_

Thorn had remained on the other side of the street, mainly because everyone in this village had dogs and they continuously howled at him, even standing where he was, they were going off and it was drawing attention.

He was in this realm but not in the same plane, so they shouldn't be able to pick up his scent. However he knew where the blue girl lives now and that was all that mattered, he just needed to get these damn dogs to stop barking...

 _..Let's see, what else? Oh I gotta fix up that music jewellery box for Mum's birthday next week, the movement seems fine, I just finished cleaning it out yesterday too, I need some velvet paper to replace the tray in the top of the box...Man I should've just made one from scratch...what else was there?_

The troll king sighed, deciding to just walk forward but the moment he did, the dogs in Crafty's backyard began howling and barking as if the devil himself was approaching, though he was far worse, Thorn thought to himself with a slight chuckle.

 _I've got the soldering wire for class next week, I can ask Miss about that, it should be okay though, plus the copper wire-I gotta upload those photos of the new Bottled Wishes pendants I made, I should actually do that now before I forget again..._

"SHUTTUP!" Came a yell from upstairs, a young male voice that was joined by an elderly woman's voice. The dog's barking dimmed to pathetic whining as Thorn phased through the building, which required no energy at all to do, and knelt beside Crafty.

' _Plus I still need to record that second playthrough of Five Nights at Freddy's 3, which I was meant to do on Wednesday but the schedule's messed up...I really want to make a plushie too but there's just no damn time..."_

He waved a hand in front of her, knowing she wouldn't see it but her eyes were closed in thought, her right finger drumming against her left arm( _they were crossed_ ) as she had so many things going on in her mind.

' _...man I need a friggin break...'_

' _Seems like someone is having a hard time.'_ Thorn chuckled.

"Screw it, I'm playing Primal." She stood up and Thorn had to quickly move out of the way so she wouldn't phase through him, since he didn't know if that would create the bond or not, as she walked over to the couch, fiddling with some small machines and a glass screen.

' _That was...unexpected...'_ He turned around, watching as an image of a woman and a small gargoyle appeared on the screen. Crafty held a device in her hands and was moving two sticks in the centre with her thumbs and pressing buttons with her thumbs as well.

He knelt behind the couch, giving a curious glance at Crafty then watched the screen as he realised it was a game, since he had nothing else to do for the moment...

 _ **20 minutes later...**_

"Aw, you son of a bitch!" Crafty cursed as she was in an underwater level, her character, Jennifer was some sort of fish creature, he couldn't remember what it's species was called but because of her Jennifer awkwardly swam and fought, the enemies could stoop in for fast attacks and he could tell that the character, Jennifer herself, was fighing against Crafty's will.

Even though he knew she wouldn't be a tulpa( _since she was still in the game)_ she still had awareness just as the rest of them did and Jennifer wanted to run into the enemy's face and keep hitting, wheras Crafty wanted to do some quick, hard hits then back off when the enemy tried to swing out.

This would have worked but again, Jennifer was fighting Crafty's influence.

"Fuckin' hell." She paused the game. ' _Are the buttons stuck? I hope not, I mean this controller's pretty old but it shouldn't be playing up just yet...I think...'_ She swapped the black controller for a grey one but with the same results, so she plugged the black one back in and continued playing.

His ear flicked from the footsteps of someone walking down the stairs but he didn't care, they couldn't see him and the only one he had to worry about was Crafty.

"Hey Crafty?" A young boy walked over, phasing through Thorn, who shivered from the unexpected sensation, and plopped on the couch beside her.

"Sup?"

"You know how you're the most awesome, coolest sister around-"

"What do you want?" She grinned as her younger brother laughed.

"Can we play a game?" He asked, he always wanted to play games with Crafty( _When he was fighting against her because she mopped the floor with him and he would stomp away sulking)_

"Uh, sure, what do you wanna play?"

"How about Kameo?" Crafty blinked and Thorn looked surprised.

"Since when do you want to play Kameo? Usually you hate it."

"I'm bored." He replied as the older sibling sighed.

"Sure but first let me get to a save point."

Thorn burst out laughing.

In this game, he saw that Crafty could save at anytime except

In boss fights, as she called them.

However she was stuck on a puzzle and wanted to finish it, since she spent the last five minutes working on a water purifier's mechanism, she just had another filter to go to finish this section.

She reached the part with the fish creature that locked itself in the filter before Crafty glanced over at Midnight, curled up on her bed near Crafty's desk.

"Oh, Midnight." She said and hearing her voice made the kitten stretch out, making a chirp sound.

This made her brother look over and she quickly saved the game.

"Alright dude, lemme set up the Xbox then we can play."

"Cool, I'll just grab my controller-"

"In the bottom drawer there is the controller you left down here last time."

He blinked.

"Oh, okay, thanks!" He said grabbing the controller and plugging it into the system as Crafty disconnected and reconnected wires, grabbing a different looking controller to the one she was just using, this one being decorated with blue and purple markings.

"So, who do you wanna fight?" Her brother looked at the screen but Thorn was paying close attention.

If he saw how she fought against him, he could use that to plan ahead.

"Well, Thorn's pretty easy,-"

He was very tempted to flick tha back of the boy's head but he knew how ridiculously fragile these hairless apes skulls were, so decided against it.

"What about Drok?"

"Sure."

So the battle started.

"Okay young Padawan, distract the enemy, you must." Crafty said in a weird voice, which made her brother laugh.

"Of course, master Yoda." He laughed as he ran past Drok, getting his attention.

Crafty had Kameo turn into Chilla and aim for the chandeliers above Drok's head. A few shots and the entire battle was over.

" _Those morons..."_ Thorn face palmed. ' _I told them to remove those damn things!'_ He sighed, glaring at the screen. ' _That would explain how Kameo arrived so quickly..._ '

"So now what?" Her brother asked.

"Well Paddy, it's up to you."

He chose the fight against Thorn, to which said troll king glared, crouching behind Crafty.

' _Now I will see how you defeated me so quickly._ '

First, they had to get there. During the fights against his army, 'Paddy' would turn into Snare and eat the trolls but what he said made the two grimace.

"Mmm, veggies!"

"EEEW PAT!" Crafty had an expression of pure disgust and horror, Thorn had just gone silent.

However when he did it to the metal trolls, he said this,

"So that's how Snare gets brace!"

Crafty started banging the controller against her head since she couldn't be bothered with walking over to the wall to smash her head in.

"Pat, dude, you're making this really gross."

"Okay, okay! It was just a joke." Crafty shook her head and they kept playing but just before the arena, Crafty walked to the side gate.

"Hang on, hang on, I wanna do this glitch first."

"Oh God, seriously?"

"Come on, it's funny."

' _What the hell is she talking about?'_ Glitches to characters and games were dangerous as the characters could get crushed between walls and be killed.

Crafty had Kameo turn into Major Ruin then roll towards the grated wall until she hit a crevice in the invisible wall.

Major Ruin started trembling, shaking, then vanished.

' _What?'_

However he reappeared above and outside the cage and Crafty hit the spin button, making Major Ruin freeze in mid air as he spun. Crafty the quickly aimed him towards a small space above where she previously was and let go.

Major Ruin shot forward and Crafty mashed a green button on her controller, turning Major Ruin back into Kameo, then walked her towards the gate and jumped into the main arena but...

Where was he? Where was Kalus?

"See? It's funny, alright let's start the fight not." Crafty walked out of the arena then back in but there was still no reaction.

"Did you break it?"

"No, it always works fine...Hang on..." She walked Kameo to the ledge. "Sorry Kam," Thorn burst out laughing as Kameo leapt off the ledge to her death, screaming.

However she respawned and Crafty had her run through the gate normally but still nothing happened.

"Dude, your game's broken."

"No! It can't be, it's not even that old!" Crafty blinked as Paddy just left. She took the game disc out and held it an angle to the light.

Not a single scratch.

' _Aw man, maybe it's jut playing up. Well I suppose I'd better get on with my other stuff then.'_ She pouted, putting the disc in a large case full of other games before turning the console off and turning on another glass screen, then began pressing several buttons away on the computer.

' _Is this how humans write?'_ Crafty seemed a bit upset that her break was over but continued working on the glass screen for hours.

Thorn became bored, so he decided to patrol the area, standing so he phased through the second floor and the ceiling, then walked out.

 _ **End of Crafty's Chapter 2**_


	4. Chapter 3

_**~Crafty**_ _ **'s Chapter 3~**_

That night was uneventful, Thorn didn't see any other tulpas in the area but the dogs continued going off until their owners were able to quiet them.

Nearly a week had passed and nothing had happened...he was actually starting to get quite bored.

He stood outside, scanning for anymore tulpas but as usual, not were around. It was starting to cool down, winter must be close. That also meant Crafty wouldn't get up if she could help it, she seemed to be quite sensitive to the cold.

Something caught his eye.

Across the street was a man with long black hair and pale skin, however it wasn't human.

It was a tulpa.

In Crafty's room, her mother walked in and gently shook Crafty's shoulder.

"Hey, baby girl?"

Crafty's eyes opened, blank of expression but still listening.

"When you get up, can you go for a run down to the store and see if you can find a collar for Benji?"

Benji was Paddy's little dog and he still didn't have a collar despite having him for nearly three months.

"Mmm...kay." She reached up and grabbed her mobile, squinting when the bright screen pierced her eyes, making her blink a few times before setting an alarm.

"Good girl, I'll be at work until late, give me a call if you need anything."

"Mmhmm..."

She walked out as Crafty snuggled back under the doona and fell back asleep.

It was around lunch time when Crafty got up since it was warmer and she stumbled towards the bathroom to get ready for the day, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

When she came out of the bathroom with a towel on and walked into her room, looking for her clothes, Thorn turned and walked out of the room as she found a pair of long oversized jeans and a short sleeved shirt, then threw her blue jacket on, doing the zip all the way up to the top then doing up the three black clasps on the front of the chest but she rolled up the long baggy sleeves up to her elbows so they wouldn't get caught on anything.

Ten minutes later Crafty looked at her phone.

' _Now...what was it Mum wanted me to get? Something to do with the dog I think...'_ She rubbed her eye again as she read the message.

' _A collar...hmm I can probably walk to stocklands from here...'_ She turned and wondered towards her siblings room.

He was already up and playing video games.

"Hey I'm going to go for a walk to the shops, make sure you lock the door behind me, okay?"

He replied with a sigh, getting up and following Crafty as she went outside, locking the door behind her.

Crafty walked down an old path through several trees, using a back packer's trail to avoid the city traffic. Ever since the...' _incident'_ she had been paranoid about crossing the street.

She jumped when she felt something on her shoulder.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I give you a fright?"

Crafty spun around, blinking in surprise.

"Uh..." Orochimaru, from Naruto was standing before her.

' _What the hell...?'_

"If you're looking for directions to the closest shopping centre, it's over that way." She said, pointing towards stocklands, she'd just take a longer route to avoid him.

"Why, thank you, you are most kind."

"Are you a cosplayer? You sound exactly like Orochimaru." She asked.

"I tend to think of myself as genuine." He replied with a grin but Crafty just felt awkward.

"Well, I've got to get going...so uh, see ya..." She said taking a few steps backwards.

"Oh please don't go, we still have business, you and I."

' _This is getting really creepy, he's giving off some seriously bad vibes here.'_

"Okay you've had your laugh, very funny but enough is enough, you're really pushing it."

However his expression suddenly went serious, the grin vanishing completely.

"So, tell me, how many tulpae do you have Gamer?"

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me child, how many Tulpae do you have?"

"What the _hell_ are you on about?!" Crafty frowned, taking a step back.

"Oh wait, she doesn't know." A voice said before they started laughing. It was an older man who looked to be around 26, he had on dark overalls and gloves...like he was a mechanic. His black hair was hidden under a trucker's cap and hazel eyes studied her.

"You sure do like the colour blue."

"Know about what?"

"The Tulpae, the Game, your Tulpa."

"Hang on, what are you even going on about?" Orochimaru laughed.

"He either must have been pretty stupid or embarrassed to not create a bond with his Gamer and he's been around for what? A week?"

Her eyes widened.

"Have you been stalking me?!"

"Oh but Gamers have to little lady, to find out more about the enemy, to take them out. Now the question is, what is your Game-O?"

Orochimaru grinned.

"It must be hidden under that jacket of hers. You could save yourself a lot of time by just killing her, remove the threat for good."

Crafty backed up, getting ready to reach into her hidden pocket and pull out her swiss army knife.

" _ **BACK THE FUCK OFF!**_ "

Orochimaru glanced to his left before grabbing the man and leaping out of the way as a tree trunk flew at him, just missing Crafty by a foot.

They landed several metres away, a gap that no normal human could jump.

"Well it seems you got away from my pets." Orochimaru chuckled.

Crafty looked in the same direction he was looking but only saw an empty space.

' _I'm dealing with a violent, high jumping lunatic and his friend that talks to empty air,_ _ **greeeeaaaat**_ _.'_

There was a tremor along the ground, making Crafty sway to get her balance. It felt like something really heavy hit the ground nearby.

' _What the hell is going on!?'_

"Take out the Gamer!" The man yelled to Orochimaru, who shot forward however Crafty felt a pressure around her arms, pinning them against her sides, then she was suddenly flying backwards through the air.

"WHOA!"

She looked down to see what had her pinned but a giant clawed hand was slowly becoming visible.

There was a heavy thud then darkness.

Crafty blinked, reaching forward and feeling cold steel. What the hell just happened?

Luckily Thorn had landed and was able to lock Crafty in a metal box before the connection finalized and she would be able to see him properly. He really did not want to deal with that right now.

" _Uh, hello? Hello?"_

Thorn just glanced at the box as Orochimaru was heading towards them.

"My goodness, you haven't said a word, does she even know you're her tulp-" A trash can flew at him, which he easily dodged but his Gamer didn't.

With Orochimaru distracted, Thorn frowned, taking the opportunity to attack.

He grabbed the ground, then pushed off, charging at Orochimaru who wasn't expecting this reaction and barely dodged, however Thorn grabbed his leg and slammed him into the ground with such force that even Crafty heard those bones breaking.

' _What the hell is going on?! I gotta get out of here!'_ Once she found the lid, she pushed upwards enough to see a very familiar figure that was partially phased through the building.

Two things ran through her mind, first;

How'd they get in an alleyway?

And second; was that Thorn? Why the hell is he here?

Either way, staying here wasn't safe.

Crafty climbed out of the dumpster( _gross)_ and quietly creapt away, seeing it was the alleyways, but she hadn't lived in the town long enough to know exactly where she was.

"You're not going anywhere." She glanced back as Thorn threw another trash can at Orochimaru before walking towards her.

However Crafty sprinted and turned to the next alleyway, running and jumping at the wire fence, climbing over it.

She jumped to the ground and rolled but a sharp pain travelled up her right leg, she landed on it wrong but luckily she could still run on it.

The man from earlier jumped another fence and grabbed Crafty from behind in a bear hug.

"LET GO OF ME!" She threw her head back into the man's face, who howled in pain, bringing his right hand up to feel his nose but this allowed Crafty to free her right arm, then brought the back of her elbow straight into his nose again with a satisfying _**crunch**_.

"You little bitch!"

He let go of her, blood running down his face as Crafty sprinted, pulling out her knife while running but didn't open it, because that would be absolutely stupid.

Orochimaru leapt forward, a white serpent extending past his arm and towards her, venom running over it's exposed teeth.

However a giant green fist send Orochimaru skidding along the grass but oddly he phased through the trees.

The man took this opportunity to grab Crafty and slam her against the wall.

"I've had enough of this!"

He pulled out a gun and pressed it against Crafty's forehead.

"I was hoping not to use this because of the noise but you've changed my mind."

 _ **BANG.**_


	5. Chapter 4

_**~Crafty's Chapter 4~**_

The gunshot rang through the alleyways, several dogs began barking as some peope nearby pulled out their phones to call the police.

A bullet sat embedded in the brick wall behind Crafty, whose pupils were dilated, panting as she blinked. The blood she got on the back of her head from smashing the man's nose had rubbed onto the brick wall behind her but she didn't notice.

She did notice a name on his jacket pocket though.

 _ **Andrew**_

However 'Andrew' looked stunned.

"How the fuck are you still alive...?" He muttered. Crafty felt numb, in shock but she noticed a pressure around her legs.

Glancing down, she saw Thorn's hand was closed around them before looking at Thorn's face. He looked relieved.

"You idiot." He sighed, glancing at Andrew.

"Your tulpa, where is he?" Andrew asked, aiming the gun again but Thorn pinched his hand and the gun, pointing it away from Crafty before completely crushing both, making Andrew scream in pain.

"I'm right here, little man."

Andrew's head snapped up to see Thorn glaring at him as he tried to back away.

"STAY BACK!"

"No, I don't think I will. You came here to kill a Gamer rather then destroy their Game-O, you are a threat that needs to be _**eliminated**_." He said grabbing Andrew as Orochimaru ran towards Crafty.

"Release him or I will mutilate your precious Gamer!" However Thorn grabbed Crafty then phased through the ground, vanishing.

"Damn you creature!"

He performed a jutsu, summoning another snake but before he could start digging through the ground, he felt a sharp, horrid pain through his body. He couldn't breathe, as if an enormous weight was crushing all around him.

"Geuck!" He grunted as the pain was becoming more intense.

He looked at his hands, as they became translucent, the rest of his body slowly starting to vanish.

Thorn reemerged from the earth and placed Crafty on the ground, who stumbled, looking pale when Thorn punched the ground below him really hard.

She wasn't sick from the sensation of phasing, she was sick because she saw Thorn phase and then release Andrew, so he wasn't phased and he screamed from the pressure slowly killing him.

The punch Thorn just did crushed Andrew's body, there was no way he would survive that.

Orochimaru tried to attack but vanished.

Crafty fell to her knees, eyes wide.

' _Two people just died...I'm responcible for two deaths...oh God...'_

Thorn looked down at her but noticed a vehicle pull up, officers exiting and running in their direction, each pulling out a small handheld weapon.

He picked up Crafty and walked away, thankful she was in shock of what happened.

The officers looked around.

"Carl, check it out." He nodded towards the wall.

"A bullet, it explains the gunshot."

"-But not who shot it and why. Call the team to analyse the area, we need to find out what happened. Look, there's blood there."

Indeed there was, though it wasn't much.

"If someone's head was shot, there'd be more blood, if it is a bullet wound, it was a small one." His partner concluded. "-Though we won't know until the team analyses the area."

"We might find out sooner then that." He said, looking at the security camera.

Thorn stopped when they reached a grassy area out of town. Crafty had become aware of her surroundings now that the shock had worn off.

"Hey," He glanced down at her. "-can you put me down?"

He looked around.

"This area seems clear." He knelt but didn't let go of her.

"-running away wouldn't be a bright idea." He added before letting go as Crafty stood and straightened her jacket.

"I'm not going to." She looked up. "I need answers about what happened back there."

"I'm not surprised."

"Okay, so what did that guy mean by 'Tulpae'?" Thorn blinked.

"Tulpa or Tulpae are fighters and protectors of their Gamers. In this case, you're my Gamer and I am your Tulpa. As you saw with that man and his tulpa, when a Gamer dies, the Tulpa are returned to their homeworld."

"So he didn't die?"

"No, unfortunately." Crafty sighed.

"So there was no other way to stop the fight?" Thorn blinked.

"There was but it wasn't an option. Did they talk about a Game-O?" Crafty nodded.

"Yeah, that guy asked me...but I have no idea what it is."

Thorn pointed to Crafty's chest.

"Your amulet." She blinked and lifted it up from under her shirt.

The winged heart made of silver with curls on each side of it with an amethyst in the centre, she made it ages ago. Though now she could feel a pulse from it, almost like a heartbeat.

"Gamers and tulpae that don't want to kill you will try to destroy your Game-O, your amulet. Then I will disappear, sent back to my own world." Crafty put her amulet away.

"Why? What's the point of all this?" The Troll King frowned.

"What do you think? For power. The last Gamer and Tulpa will be given a choice of three prizes..."

"Prizes? _Seriously?"_ Thorn looked at her, eyebrow raised.

"You won't be so sceptic when you hear what they are."

"I'm listening."

"The first prize is to leave everything the way it is."

"-So it's basically nothing?" He nodded.

"The second is to combine every single Gaming world to the human plane, making this world incredibly bigger." Crafty's eyes widened.

"That...would cause chaos..." He nodded.

"The third and final choice, is to destroy each and every single gaming world in existance."

Crafty's eyes were wide.

"..."

"-in return, both the Gamer and Tulpa are granted God-like powers."

Crafty ran a hand through her hair.

"But if they're real, like you, then there would be so many lives-families, kids...jesus..."

Thorn crossed his arms and leaned against a tree.

"The choice of what you do if you survive until the very end is up to you kid, I'm just here to make sure you don't die."

"Hang on," Crafty realised something. She looked at Thorn, who gave her a curious look.

"What?"

"Before that tulpa said you had been hanging around for a week, is that true?"

He looked away before clearing his throat.

"Yes, it is."

"..." The Gamer fell silent...

" _ **He either must have been pretty stupid or**_ _ **embarrassed**_ _ **to not create a bond with his Gamer and he's been around for what? A week?"**_ Orochimaru's voice spoke as she recalled the memory.

"So this is just an inconvenience for you."

Thorn's head snapped to her in surprise as she started walking back towards town.

"Where are you going?"

"Home."

Thunder rumbled as rain started to fall and Crafty just pulled up her hoodie, continuing her walk to town.

Thorn hadn't moved.

"Just wait for the rain to pass."

"I can't, I've been out for too long, I was supposed to be to the shops and back home ages ago." She checked her phone, using her sleeve to keep the rain off it.

No service.

"You're going to get sick." He called out again but Crafty was still walking.

Five minutes later, there was a heavy thud that made Crafty fall over.

"You're sulking." Crafty stood up and dusted herself off, annoyed that she got mud on her knees and part of her jacket.

"No, I'm not." She started walking again, wiping the mud off her hands as she went, the downpour getting heavier.

' _Shit, my phone's going to get wet!'_ She took out her phone and slid it in her shirt, hoping that would keep the water off it.

Thorn growled and picked her up.

"Hey!"

"Then what are you upset about?" She frowned.

"I'm not upset, I just have to get home."

"Why? You're always in that house!" She blinked.

"So?"

"Are you a prisoner?" This surprised her.

"What? No! I just spend a lot of time at home, that's all but-wait what time is it?" She checked her watch. It was around lunctime she left and now-

5PM.

' _Oh shit.'_

"Okay, put me down I have to get home right now, bloody hell how is it 5PM already?"

Thorn turned towards the city.

"If you just asked, I can take you there much faster then your slow walking." He jumped and Crafty froze, her heart rate soaring.

Normally heights don't bother her but this was _really f*cking high._

Thorn landed on the ground, grinning at Crafty.

"You're not afraid of heights, are you?" She was pale.

"No but you jump pretty damn high."

"Deal with it." He leapt again. Another three leaps and they were within the city, her phone vibrated.

Crafty was surprisngly able to get it out-

Mum

5 missed calls.

Plus some messages.

Mum

-Crafty, where are you? Answer your phone.

The rest became more frantic.

"Thorn, stop."

He landed and looked at her.

"What is it?"

"I really have to make a call, my Mum's really panicking."

He rolled his eyes but let go of her and she called, stepping away from Thorn as the guy next to her jumped out of his skin, since she literally, to him, appeared out of thin air.

"-I know, I am so sorry but I'm okay-I yes, but I promise you as soon as I get home I will explain. I am really sorry Mum, my phone didn't have any bars. I'll be there ASAP."

She hung up and shuddered.

Thorn picked her up again, which was really starting to annoy Crafty but she needed to get home quickly.

"I have to tell her."

Thorn frowned.

"What makes you think she'll believe you?" He leapt through the air.

"Well you can move objects, right?" He raised an eyebrow at her.

"You want me to pick up things to prove to your mother that your sanity isn't breaking?"

"Mmmm...pretty much, yeah." He shook his head.

"You do realise she won't be able to see me and will think it's some sort of trick?"

"Not with what I have in mind." Crafty replied, looking ahead with a worried expression.

When they reached home, the dogs began barking again but Crafty didn't have the energy to tell them to be quiet.

"Good luck." Thorn laughed, crossing his arms as Crafty frowned.

' _Asshole.'_

Thorn laughed again as Crafty pushed the front door open, finding it unlocked.

"Start explain-is that blood?" Her Mum grabbed her right arm to look at her elbow, seeing dried blood stains, then noticed the back of her hair had blood too.

"What happened?" She said looking Crafty over.

"Take a seat, there's something I need to tell you."

"Is Crafty home?" Paddy asked, openning his door before their Mother told him to go to his room.

"Wait, he'd better hear this too. Cause I don't want to have to go through this fucking drama again."

Paddy walked over and sat on the couch beside their Mother as Crafty took a shaky breath.

"First, this is insane but let me finish the whole thing before interrupting, okay?"

"-Just tell me what fucking happened."

Crafty shuddered.

"Well, I was attacked by a mechanic called Andrew-"

 _Five minutes later_

"-By then that's when my phone got service and I was able to call you."

"You expect me to believe that some green monster exists-" Crafty turned.

"Hey Thorn," He phased through the wall, having to lean forward so his head wasn't in the ceiling.

"There's nothing there Crafty."

"You can't see him, you're not a Gamer. Hey Thorn, can you pick me up?"

"Fine." He grabbed Crafty around the waist and lifted her so, to her family, it looked like she was levitating.

"What the fuck!?"

"Cool!"

Paddy got up and waved his arm underneath Crafty's feet, then walked around her to confirm there was no tricks.

"How can he pick you up but still be ghostly to us?" He asked.

"It's called 'phasing' it's a unique ability only I can use. While other Tulpas can touch their Gamer and even carry them for a few minutes, I can move any and all objects between the human plane and the Tulpa plane." Crafty nodded then turned her head to her family.

"He said it's because he's got a special ability that lets him phase through or pick up object in our plane that other tulpas can't do." Thorn put her down.

"I need to patrol the area." He said before phasing out.

"He's gone on patrol."

"So what does your tulpa look like?" Her mother asked. Crafty never said Thorn's name or what he looked like, hoping they wouldn't ask since her brother would freak out.

"Uh, gimme a second." She grabbed her mobile then went to google image search and brought up a picture.

"That's what he looks like." Paddy's eyes widened.

"It's Thorn?!" Crafty nodded.

"But he's evil!"

"Well while this Game is on, he's not." Crafty said, putting her phone away.

"So what now?" The older woman asked.

"I suppose same as usual but I'll occasionally vanish for a bit."

Crafty had a shower and got into her pajamas, which were a blue long sleeved top and pants with white stars on them plus a pocket on the left side of the chest.

When she came out, she continued talking to her family about it.

"Why did you decide to tell us this?" Paddy asked as Crafty sighed.

"This is day 1 after becoming a proper Gamer, **Day** _ **1**_. I don't want to deal with the drama of trying to make up bullshit excuses and hiding this from you, so it's just easier for everyone that you know now."

"When he gets back, let me know, I want to talk to him." Her Mother said as Crafty nodded.

' _I wonder why she wants to talk to Thorn...I hope she's not going to do anything weird.'_

"I'm right here." She looked over as Thorn phased through the wall, again leaning forward. "What does she want?"

"He's right there." Crafty said gesturing with her head.

"Where?" Crafty pointed but Thorn stepped over to the other side of the room, Crafty's head moving as her Mother and Brother watched, waiting for an explanation.

"Okay, _now_ you're just being an asshole."

Thorn laughed as Paddy giggled but her Mother stood, looking where Crafty was.

"Listen here Thorn, if anything happens to my baby girl, I will _personally_ kick your ass, go it?"

Thorn burst out laughing again and Crafty was glad she couldn't hear him.

"Does she even know what I look like? Did you tell her that and how powerful I am?" Crafty nearly scoffed.

"You sound so egotistical when you say that. Yes she knows what you look like." Crafty looked at her Mother.

"How tall do you think he is?"

"From the floor up to the ceiling?" She said, her foot tapping the floor.

"Try the floor downstairs up to the roof. He basically has to hunch forward like this to fit in here." Crafty said, leaning forward like Thorn was. "-like an old man."

"Do not old." He said, frowning.

"Actually...how old _are_ you?"

Her mother and Paddy just say Crafty's eyebrows rise really high.

" _Really_? Okay, calm down I won't tell them... _maybe..."_ She started laughing from Thorn's glare.

"Anyway it's been a long day, I'm going to bed." Crafty said, turning and walking towards her room, snuggling under the doonas.

 _ **End of Crafty's Chapter 4**_

 ** _~Author's Note~_**

 ** _These chapters are going up as fast as the Hunk A Junk/GHOST chapters were XD I will try to finish the next GHOST chapter tomorrow when I get time but for now, I must sleep, my dreams need me! XD_**


	6. Nikkette's Chapter NOT WRITTEN BY ME

**THIS IS IMPORTANT** **,** **I DID NOT WRITE THIS CHAPTER IT WAS WRITTEN BY MY FRIEND** **Nikkette** **FULL CREDIT FOR THIS CHAPTER GOES ENTIRELY TO HER, I UPLOADED THIS WITH HER FULL KNOWLEDGE AND CONSENT**

 _ **I'm going to explain this up here real quick so no one gets the wrong idea, Nikkette thought it would be confusing to go back and forward to read these chapters written by different artist so she asked me to submit this in my story instead and I don't know if I'm actually allowed to do that on Fanfiction, if so can someone let me know please? Either way this isn't stolen XD (otherwise she'd whoop my butt! XD)**_

Gem silently sighed to herself, pulling into the driveway of her two-story home and putting her mom's minivan in park.

She had just driven home from her grandparents' house, whom she visited every week, and after hours of talking and gossip and good homemade food, she was eager to head inside and get some rest.

Taking off her seatbelt, Gem grabbed the leftovers from the night's meal and stepped out of the car, careful not to drop her grandmother's tupperware in the process. Seeing that she had everything she needed, she turned around and put a hand out to shut the door-

"AGH! SON OF A- !"

-and slammed it right into the sensitive flesh above her knee.

She pursed her lips tightly, letting out a long and painful hum as she mentally slapped herself for being so stupid, closing her eyes in simmering anger and taking a moment to recompose herself. Letting out a harsh puff of air through her nostrils, she idly looked at the trees and houses around her to see if anyone else had witnessed her stupidity.

A sudden ruffle cut through the silence, and her eyes darted to the source of the noise, glad to find that it was nothing more than a pair of birds leaving a tree on the other side of the yard.

Satisfied, she took her keys and food and went inside, unaware of the hooded figure watching intently from the treeline.

Gem trudged up the stairs leading to her bedroom and collapsed face first onto her bed, exhausted from the day's events.

Long brown curls fanned out above her head, and she released a long breath into her bedsheets as she felt her muscles relax. After a few moments of quiet, the back of her head began to tingle, and she was suddenly overcome with the hazy feeling of being watched. She was so tired and worn from travelling around all day, however, that she found herself unable to pay it much mind; it was probably just the dog or cat.

She sighed again, turning her head to bury her cheek into a nearby pillow, and drifted to sleep.

Her dreams were rather peculiar that night.

She was awake. Except she wasn't awake, she was asleep - she knew she was. But then why did everything feel so real? She lay in her bed, wide awake, staring at the ceiling. She couldn't really feel her limbs, but she knew they were there, and though she couldn't actually move them, she didn't really want to either. Just as she began to get lost in the feeling of being there but not really being there, something truly odd happened.

A spider, tiny as a pencil dot, crawled out of a hole in the ceiling she hadn't remembered being there before.

She watched as it descended, pinning its web to the tile as it lowered itself towards her, only it wasn't a delicate little arachnid anymore – it was a giant; with long, jagged hairs covering its body and countless glistening eyes and legs thick as her thumbs. It spread its limbs out like two sets of fingers, suddenly just inches away, and then her arms and legs were jerking themselves free of their sleep-induced haze and she was scrambling away like her life depended on it (because let's face it, it did).

And then she was awake, heart beating and eyes wide, breath coming as fast as a woman in labor.

Gem looked frantically around the room, particularly at the ceiling, freezing when she heard a loud rustling to her right. Hesitantly, she looked over, finding the silhouetted figure of a person stomping the floor with their heavy boot.

Panicking, she leapt off her bed and turned on the light at her bedside, hair twirling as she whipped her head back around to face the stranger in her room.

It was a man.

He was dressed in white, with an overly long coat and hood. His back was turned to her so she couldn't see his face, but it was quite clear that he was pummeling something with his boot.

Slowly, she lowered her hand from the lamp's switch to its base, intent on using it to beat him over the head with, when he stopped and turned around to face her. She froze, eyes wide and muscles rigid as she stood in the corner by her lamp, breath seizing in her throat as he stared at her.

"Do not worry," he said, breath coming faster than normal. "I killed it."

She furrowed her eyebrows at him, geniunely confused, and hesitantly asked, "...Killed what?"

"The spider," he clarified, and she instantly remembered her dream.

Tightening the grip on her lamp, she decided to ignore the fact that he had probably saved her from waking up with a red, swelled face and instead focus on what a complete stranger was doing in her room.

"Who are you?" She asked accusingly, thankful for the queen-sized bed standing between them.

"I am Connor," he answered slowly. "Connor Kenway."

She briefly pinched her eyebrows together, trying to work things out in her brain. Connor...Connor...why did that sound so familiar? She took in his appearance once more, running her eyes over his hood and coat and heavy-set boots, and then it hit her.

"Pfft," she sputtered, looking at him as though he were stupid. "Connor? Connor Kenway? The Assassins Creed guy? Are you kidding me? Gosh, you'd think if you were gonna break into someone's house you'd be a little more creative than that...nice outfit, by the way."

'Connor' briefly looked down at his attire, trying to see the humor in her sarcastic tone and failing. "This is no joke. I assure you, I am who I claim to be."

"Ha!" She barked, loosening her grip on the lamp. "You've even got his speech down! I must say, you're a very impressive imposter."

"I am not lying," he says, voice tight with irritation.

Letting go of the lamp completely, she smirked and crossed her arms. "Fine. Prove it."

He freezes. "...I beg your pardon?"

"I said prove it," she said smugly, shifting her weight onto one hip. "If you are who you say you are, then take off that hood."

His fingers twitched at his sides, the lower half of his face showing little emotion other than the barely-noticeable parting of his lips, and said, "I...do not know if that is a good idea."

She stared uninterestedly at him. "Mhm. That's what I thought. Now get out before I call the cops-"

"No!" He pleaded, raising his hands to calm her. "Please, do not do that. I will...do as you ask."

Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, Gem watched as he slowly lifted his hands up to his hood and pulled it back, revealing the face that she had yet to see. When his eyes met hers, she was barely able to keep her jaw from dropping. He looked exactly like his video game counterpart. From the wide chin to the high cheekbones, right down to the raven hair and the shape of his eyes.

Curiosity getting the better of her, she moved away from the corner of her room and crawled across the bed, standing up on her knees as she looked him over with scrutiny. He seemed to grow uncomfortable under her gaze, and as she studied him she realized that even his clothes were authentic; none of that cheap, overpriced cosplay stuff you'd buy from the internet. But then again, hadn't she just been dreaming a few minutes ago? How could she truly trust this guy was telling the truth when her tired brain could just as easily be playing tricks on her?

Slowly coming closer, she raised her hand, extended her finger-

-and poked him.

Connor blinked, geniunely surprised, and she had no choice but to come to the conclusion that she wasn't hallucinating - after all, as far as she knew you couldn't really touch or feel hallucinations.

Exhaling in befuddlement, Gem pulled back and scrunched her face up, puzzled at the lifelike man standing before her.

"...Okay," she said after a while. "Let's just pretend for a minute that you are Connor Kenway. From the game. What are you doing at my house?"

"I am on a mission," he replied, tone serious.

"Mhmmm," she hummed, half-heartedly agreeing as she smirked and inspected her nails. "And what mission is that?"

"I was sent here to protect you, and to ensure that you win the tournament that is currently taking place."

"Tournament?" She asked, lowering her hand and looking at him. "What tournament?"

"Every few decades," he began, speaking slowly so she would understand. "A tournament is held in the earth realm. A select few are chosen to be competitors in a fight for one of three prizes. Each competitor is assigned a guardian to help them reach this goal. I cannot-"

She pinched her eyebrows together, cutting him off. "Wait, so what are you, exactly? Some kind of alien or something?"

"I am a Tulpa," he said simply, and she just blinked.

"Tulpa? What the heck's a Tulpa?"

"A guardian. Fighter and protector of their Gamer."

"Okay wait, Gamer? You just said you were sent here to protect me."

"I am," he nodded. "You are my Gamer."

"Wait, so...this 'tournament'. Is it a video game tournament? Like some kind of weird, nerd gettogether that's going on downtown or something? Because if it is, just say so. I won't judge."

Connor grumbled under his breath, clearly irritated with her skeptic attitude. "Ugh...no. It is a real competition with real fighters. Nothing happens on one of those computerized screens you're so fond of looking at."

Gem stayed silent for a long moment, staring at him as though he were retarded.

"...Are you kidding me?! You honestly expect me to believe that? That you're some real-life video game character from another dimension that's been sent here to 'protect' me because I've been unknowingly chosen to participate in some stupid game? Seriously?"

"It does not matter if you believe it or not," Connor said resolutely, pulling his hood back over his face. "The fact remains; it is true, and you are in danger. You must come with me if you hope to survive."

He moved to grab her wrist, but she automatically yanked it from his grip and backed away. "I'm not going anywhere with you," she said defiantly. "And if I've got anything to do with it, you're going-"

"Gem?"

She froze, and both she and Connor turned towards the voice.

It was Ginnifer; her little sister.

"Uh...Ginny," Gem said cautiously, wondering how she would react to Connor. "What are you doing up?"

"Well I had to use the bathroom," the little spitfire explained testily. "Until I heard you talking to yourself like a weirdo."

Gem fluttered her eyelids, blinking rapidly as she tried to understand. She looked between her sister and the man next to her, finding it more and more alarming that she wasn't reacting at all to the stranger standing in her room.

"You...you mean...you don't see anyone?" She asked, brows pinching.

"What are you talking about?" Ginny asked, staring at her older sister as though she were insane. "There's no one here but me! Are on drugs?"

"Ginny!" Gem exclaimed. "...You know what, forget it. Just go back to bed...and you are way too young to be talking about drugs!"

"Ugh..."

The little ten-year-old rolled her eyes and sagged her shoulders dramatically, making sure to take her time as she left the room so as to tick off her big sister.

Gem watched as she left, careful to keep her voice down as she turned to Connor. "What the hell was that about?" She hissed accusingly. "Why couldn't she see you?"

"I told you," he said calmly. "You are my Gamer, and I am your Tulpa."

"That doesn't explain anything, dammit!" She whispered harshly.

"For a woman, you curse abundantly," he said offhandedly, and she turned away and grabbed frustratedly at her hair.

"Urgh!"

"...Tulpae are invisible in the human realm," he supplied after a while, ever-so-helpful.

"Then why can I see you?" She asked challengingly, turning back to him.

"No one can see us except for Gamers, and that is only if we initiate physical contact."

She screwed her face up at him. "And when exactly did that happen?"

"I touched you while you were sleeping."

"..."

"..."

"...You did what?!"

She glared at him, furious, and though she could no longer see his eyes she could tell that the implications of what he had just said dawned on him, and he immediately raised his hands and opened his mouth to defend himself.

"N- no, it was not like-"

"Okay," she interrupted, smiling with false humor. "Honestly? Get out."

She dropped her smile and jerked her thumb towards the window behind her, which she assumed had been the way he got in, and waited impatiently for him to heed her order.

Though he obviously didn't want to be kicked out into the hot Summer air, he also knew by the look on her face that she wasn't joking.

Sighing, he gave in, slowly walking towards the open window and climbing out, pausing to look back at her and say, "This is not the wisest of choices, you know. If another Gamer or Tulpa finds you and I am not there to protect you, it could-"

"Ah-ch, ch, ch!" She silenced him, raising her hand and closing her fingers together to signal him to shut up, not wanting to hear any more.

She waited, fully prepared to shush him if he tried to say anything else, and after a few seconds of silence he resumed in his movements and wordlessly leapt out the window, closing the screen behind him and disappearing from sight.

Gem heaved a long, giant sigh, breathing deeply to try and calm her nerves.

Okay.

So maybe she was officially crazy now.

She had heard of cases where people unintentionally created beings from nothing but their own imagination, being able to touch and have full conversations with them as a result, so she supposed it wasn't too unbelievable that she could have done the same thing to herself (after all, she was a genius).

But then again, she always considered herself pretty sane, and she was pretty damn sure her brain wouldn't create anything without her knowing. Besides, if it was an illusion, like she so hoped it was, why would she choose Connor?! She hadn't even finished Assassins Creed III yet! Why couldn't her brain have chosen someone else, someone gorgeous...like one of her favorite actors or something? Ugh, this was too much.

Running a hand over her face, Gem walked back over to her lamp and switched it off, climbing into bed and pulling the thin sheets over her chin and curling into a ball.

It took a considerable amount of effort, but eventually she was able to get back to sleep and forget about the white-clad assassin taking a chill pill on her roof, happy to not be dreaming of video games or gigantic eight-legged monsters.

End of Nikkette's chapter

 ** _Nikkette is an awesome writer and you should seriously go check out her other stories, they're really awesome! :D You'll know her icon, it's the pink haired woman holding a finger up to her lips like "Shhh!" Which she did herself, she's an awesome artist! :D_**


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